Jun
11
Cleveland Head Coach Is Showing What He Is – or Isn’t – in 2007 NBA Finals!
When did I first have my questions about Cleveland Cavaliers’ Head Coach Mike Brown. When the Cavs beat the Washington Wizards last year in the first round. After the Cavs had knocked off the Wizards in Washington, D.C. on a late three by another favorite of mine, Damon Jones, my brother called me about Brown.
He told me how James ran up to Wizards’ star Gilbert Arenas after the game to console him. When asked in a post-game conference about what he said to Arenas, Brown repeated what he said.
“You good man. You good.” Yep. That’s what Brown told Arenas. Could you imagine any other coach sounding so unprofessional?
That’s when I knew that Brown was nothing more than a player’s coach, and in Cleveland to be a part of the Lebron James’ ride. With Brown’s words in mind, he has certainly not been good in the NBA Finals.
Brown has been rather stoic on the sidelines, featured with his hands in his pocket rather than getting his team to play. Here are just some of his bonehead decisions thus far.
? After Lebron James picked up two quick fouls in the first three minutes of Game Two, Brown sent James to the bench for the rest of the first quarter. As no surprise, San Antonio ran off with the game and took a 28-17 lead at the end of the quarter. While Brown was right to sit James, he should have gotten him into the game much earlier rather than letting San Antonio run off with the game. When James returned in the second quarter, he was forcing jumpers and trying to get Cleveland back from a deep deficit. The Cavs trailed by 25 at halftime.
? Brown inserted Daniel Gibson into the game early in the first quarter and then quickly yanked him for veteran Eric Snow for some defensive presence. Brown played Snow, who is on his last legs and puts Cleveland at a four-on-five disadvantage on the offensive end, for ten straight minutes. The Spurs took over the game at that time, and Snow provided little defense.
? Getting nothing out of Larry Hughes, Brown needs to start Daniel Gibson in Game Three. The rookie from Texas has been Cleveland’s best player along with Drew Gooden in the first two games of this series. If he doesn’t make this adjustment between Games Two and Three, Brown is just being stubborn. While he admires the fact that Hughes has been playing with pain, Brown needs to put the Cavs in the position to win. Hughes is averaging one point per game in this series while Gibson is at 15.5 points.
? Drew Gooden has been very effective for Cleveland in this series and is yet only averaging 24.5 minutes per game. Gooden has made the most of those minutes and averaged 13.5 points in the first two games. Gooden has not been in serious foul trouble (he only has six fouls in the two games); thus making Brown’s decision to not give him more minutes especially questionable. Brown likes to play Anderson Varejao and should use both of these guys together as Zydrunas Ilgauskas has been miserable. Cleveland should also run some plays for Gooden, who has been hitting the mid-range jump shot with great efficiency thus far in the series.
? At the end of both Games One and Two, Brown has pulled his starters with about a minute to go. While the games were most likely over, Brown shouldn’t be conceding. His players haven’t done enough in the first two games to deserve being pulled late. Let them face the embarrassment of being on the court while the Spurs and their fans celebrate victories.
Down 2-0 in this series, Brown and Cleveland need to get going. It’s time for Brown to start doing something and playing his hot hands. It’s also time for Brown to convey to James about the need to be consistently on the attack.
Thus far, the Cavs have modeled their coach in the Finals, being pretenders rather than contenders.
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Well said and an excellent diagnosis of a “player’s coach.”
Am I the only one who’s noticed that when Gibson is on the floor, Parker has a tendency to abandon his drives and miss medium/long jumpers?
RstJ